If we want to discover the full potential in our humanity, we need to celebrate those heartbreaking strengths and those glorious disabilities we all have. It is our humanity and all the potential within it that makes us beautiful.

I haven't had an easy life, but at some point, you have to take responsibility for yourself and shape who it is that you want to be. I have no time for moaners. I like to chase my dreams and surround myself with other people who are chasing their dreams, too.

We all bullet point our triumphs, but I am who I am because of everything you don’t see on my CV. The stuff that doesn’t work out teaches you how to trust your instincts and adapt.

I’ve said this before, but I believe more than ever that confidence is sexier than any body part.

The Pentagon isn’t a place that champions individuality and innovation.

A lot of my life is about will – having the will to prove what my body can do.

The legs that I have made are far more perfect than the ones nature would have given me – my mother’s side of the family have awful legs.

It’s hard enough for women to walk on high heels. And I’m on stilts!

For me, I never ever felt the ownership or any identity with any community of disabilities. I didn’t grow up being told that I was a disabled child.

You know, I think there are certain words like ‘illegitimate’ that should not be used to describe a person. And certainly, we have come far enough in our technology that our language can evolve, because it has an impact.